In Chapter 7 of his biography of Eugene Peterson, A Burning in My Bones, Winn Collier writes of Peterson’s graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University under the renowned archaeologist and biblical scholar, William F. Albright. With Peterson in one of his classes with Albright was another graduate student by the name of Prescott H. Williams. Williams, of course, went on to serve as faculty member, dean, and president of Austin Seminary.
Collier relates a moment in a class when, after a long presentation by Albright regarding the suspected location of Mount Moriah (where Abraham had taken Isaac to sacrifice him), Prescott, still a graduate student “politely walked through his objections to the argument. Then the room fell silent. The professor picked up his eraser and slowly wiped vast swaths across the blackboard. ‘Forget everything I said,’ he stated simply. ‘Prescott is right’” (p. 96). Many years later when Peterson was translating both Old and New Testaments (published as The Message), Prescott served as a consultant on Peterson’s translation of the Old Testament.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Prescott Williams grew up in the Scovel Presbyterian Church. According to his obituary in The Presbyterian Outlook, he was baptized by Reinhold Niebuhr (who at the time was pastor of the Bethany Evangelical Church in Detroit). He earned degrees from Wheaton College (B.A.), Princeton Seminary (B.D.), and Johns Hopkins University (Ph.D.). After serving churches in Maryland, he accepted a call in 1959 to teach Old Testament at Austin Seminary. He became one of the longest serving members of the Austin Seminary faculty, serving as professor, dean (1966-1976), acting president (1971-1972), and president and dean (1972-1976), returning to the classroom after his term as president. He retired in 1991, having served the Seminary for 32 years.
Williams was an authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Again according to the obituary in The Presbyterian Outlook, “he was actively involved in biblical research and archaeology, serving as acting annual professor at the American School of Oriental Research in Jordan in 1964-65; advising the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and training Jordanian archaeologists in their workin Amman, Qumran, and Sabastiyah (biblical Samaria); and staffing archaeological expeditions to Schechem in Jordan in 1962, 1964, and 1966.”
Williams was largely responsible for initiating the Doctor of Ministry program at Austin Seminary as well as strengthening ties with the nearby Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. During his tenure as president the curriculum underwent a major review and revision. That curriculum remained in place for the next 30 years.
With Williams, Jim Wharton, and Gene March teaching Old Testament and John Jansen and Stuart Currie teaching New Testament, one could argue that the biblical studies department at Austin Seminary in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the strongest among Presbyterian seminaries.
This month will mark the 16th anniversary of Prescott Williams’ death. He was 84 years old. His patience with students (like this writer), combined with his biblical scholarship contributed to a memorable and healthy experience. As we look back with gratitude on the life of Prescott Harrison Williams and how he shaped generations of future pastors, we also look, with gratitude, to today’s faculty members who are shaping the lives of students today. They are indeed “making history today.”
The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to:
PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.
